


Getting it Together

by starry_mist



Category: Hudson & Rex (TV)
Genre: But there may be a trope, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Tag, F/M, Fix-It, Friends to Lovers, I have a sickness, I mean come on, I promise it works out, In fact I guarantee a trope is coming, LIKE YESTERDAY, Now with 100 percent more trope, So much angst though, Spoilers for 3x10 - All in the Litter, Tags Are Fun, These two need their heads knocked together, This got longer than intended, and fluffy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:49:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29505069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starry_mist/pseuds/starry_mist
Summary: She'd walked into his home, and immediately connected with Rex.
Relationships: Charlie Hudson/Sarah Truong
Comments: 105
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sure I wasn't the only one literally screaming "GET IT TOGETHER" while watching this episode, so please indulge me as I fix what they didn't.

“ _I_ _’m sure one day I’ll find the perfect woman, she’ll walk into my apartment and, you know, immediately connect with Rex._ ”

He was an idiot.

Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh. 

No, Charlie thought, he was definitely an idiot. How could he not have seen what was right in front of him?

But he had seen her. He’d always seen her. He’d just never gotten his shit together enough to do something about it.

Because he was an idiot. 

No, that wasn't quite it.

Because he was scared. Scared of what he knew she meant to him, scared to make that first move, scared that he would screw it up.

So he’d tried putting himself out there again. Which had clearly been a poor choice.

But seeing her in his house that day, the way she had greeted the dog, the easy relationship they shared, all of the pieces had finally fit together.

And now he was seized by the need to finally do something about it.

Summoning his courage, Charlie went down to the lab where Sarah was putting on her coat, ready to leave for the day. He knocked softly at the door as he entered.

“Charlie?” She looked up in surprise. “Hey. Did you need something?”

“Have dinner with me.”

“Oh, sure, pizza night? I can give Jesse the heads up.”

“No, I um…” He sucked in a breath. “Have dinner with me. Just you and me.”

Rex made a noise from the hallway.

“Okay, him too. Just...Come over tonight. Have dinner with me.”

She blinked a few times, then a small smile of realization came to her face. “Sure. Charlie?”

“Yeah?” He smiled back at her.

“Is this a date?”

“Yes.” He knew he was now definitely grinning like an idiot.

“Okay.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're going back a bit to delve into Sarah's POV from the episode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hi again. Yes, this was going to be a one-shot. Yes, I changed my mind because I over-analyze scenes and there was so much more that needed to be said here, especially because I would be doing Sarah a disservice not to talk about her feelings (and there were many) in the scenes from the episode.

Being called to a crime scene hadn’t been part of Sarah’s Saturday night plans. But then, who was she kidding? She had no Saturday night plans. She had a decent book on the go, maybe a hot bath, but that was about it.

_I need to get a life_ , she thought.

She noticed Charlie’s car pull up and watched as the detective and his canine partner got out to go speak with Joe. Turning back to her forensics sweep, she felt rather than saw him approach a few moments later. He greeted her, and she gave him the rundown of her initial findings on the victim. 

What was that scent that hung in the air between them? Was he…

“Are you wearing cologne?” she asked with an amused smile.

Charlie looked uncomfortable. “Uh...it’s Saturday night, so…” he trailed off.

“Oh!” Sarah exclaimed as she realized what he meant. She had to admit she was a little surprised. He hadn’t mentioned anything to her about him starting to date again. _Not that he would_ , she thought. The man wasn’t always the most forthcoming about his personal life. But still, this was a new development. One that she didn’t quite know how to react to, but that seemed to be causing a reaction nonetheless. “Who’s, uh, who’s the lucky lady?” she asked, hoping that he didn’t notice the momentary waver in her voice.

“Oh, you mean who _was_ the lucky lady,” Charlie replied, still looking more than a little awkward about discussing this. “Because she had a little bit of an issue with my partner.”

They both looked over at Rex, who cocked his head in an expression that clearly asked “Who, me?”

“Oh,” said Sarah. She gave him what she hoped was a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, Charlie.” She looked back at the dog, not quite sure how to continue this conversation, the smile no longer quite reaching her eyes.

“I’m sure one day I’ll find the perfect woman,” Charlie continued. “She’ll walk into my apartment and uh, you know, immediately connect with Rex.”

Yeah, she definitely needed out of this conversation. Hearing him talk like this about what he was looking for in a woman was bringing up feelings she’d been trying to suppress for far too long. 

She plastered the smile back on as she looked up at him again. “Could happen.”

His eyes searched her face for a moment, and she felt certain he could see everything she was trying not to say, but then he quickly steered them back to the case, asking her about the victim.

Turning her focus back to the crime scene, she filled him in on what she had found so far.

Rex appeared to have noticed something, and both Charlie and Sarah looked over to where he was signaling. 

“You find something, partner?” asked Charlie, heading over to see what the dog had noticed.

Sarah let out a small sigh of relief that the more personal conversation was over. Biting back the emotion that had welled up in her, she forced a smile as she went to join the detective and the dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a few more chapters of Sarah, after which I will MOST DEFINITELY be sitting them down to hash things out because they're SO OVERDUE for this conversation.  
> It might get angsty. This is unlikely to be one of my usual fluffy pieces. We'll see where they lead me.


	3. Chapter 3

Sarah pulled up to Charlie’s house and got out of her car. She had been a little hesitant after receiving his message asking her to come over, admittedly still shaken by having to break the news to him about Rex’s DNA being found at the crime scene. There had to be an explanation, she thought as she rang the doorbell.

The detective was waiting at the door to let her in. “Hi Sarah,” he greeted her.

“Hey, I got your text,” she replied, removing her coat. “I thought you were taking some time off.”

Charlie just stared at her. “This is me taking time off.”

She gave him a look of disbelief, even as she laughed. She knew her friend well enough to know that he wouldn’t just let this case go, even after Joe’s order to lay low for a while.

“I’ll take your jacket,” said Charlie.

“Thanks,” she replied, handing it to him.

Rex barked from the living room, and Sarah eagerly went to greet him.

“Aww, hey handsome,” she said to the dog, who was currently raising a paw in greeting. “Are you coming to say hi? You want a high-five?” She smiled as he approached, nearly as tall as she was when he stood up on his hind legs. “Want to meet me up here? Do you want your paw?” She took the dog’s paws in her hands. “Oh, yes,” she laughed as the dog covered her face with kisses. “Oh, I love you, I love you.” She really did. Regardless of her current complicated feelings towards his human partner, her bond with the dog was special, and she valued any time she got to spend with him. “Oh, you’re the best.” She laughed as Rex finally dropped back to all fours.

Oddly enough, she sensed that Charlie hadn’t yet moved from the doorway where he’d stood watching her with the dog. She turned back to him, noticing the faraway look in his eyes, like he was deep in thought about something.

“So, uh, what’s going on?” she asked.

It took Charlie a second to respond, as if she had startled him with her question. He quickly shifted back into work mode, asking her about the possibility of dogs having twins, and whether one of Rex’s littermates might share his DNA. It was an intriguing possibility, if true, and they quickly worked out how they might be able to get DNA samples from the other dogs.

"You ready for a family reunion?" she asked, directing the question to Rex.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved the scene with Sarah and Rex. It kind of made up for the rest of the episode.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I said it would get a little angsty...

With the case closed, Sarah wrapped up the last of her work in the lab. Being that she was the only one still there at this hour, she had unfortunately ended up lost in the thoughts that she had been trying to avoid all week.

Maybe it was for the best that she’d had some space from Charlie during this case. She’d spent more time out in the field, which she always appreciated, and while she loved working with Charlie and Rex, it was also refreshing to be able to tag along with some of the other members of their team. It had also provided a welcome distraction from her conflicted feelings towards the detective.

What was happening with them? It wasn’t that long ago that things between them had seemed so different. It had felt like they were finally on the same page with the idea that maybe their friendship was becoming something more. But now...it seemed like they’d just skirted around the subject a handful of times, and then never talked about it again. 

Sure they spent a lot of time together outside of work. And yes, she had to admit that they flirted constantly, but that was nothing new. Their easy friendship had just continued, enjoying each other’s company but never quite taking that next step into something beyond what they had.

So it was only natural that he would eventually have other women in his life. And she had to have known that, but truthfully, he had caught her completely off guard with the revelation that he was dating again. It made sense, he had been single for as long as she’d known him. So why was it bothering her so much to learn that he’d been putting himself back out there?

A voice inside her told her she knew exactly why it was bothering her, and as much as she tried to push it away, it kept coming back.

_ You don’t want to wait too long. _

Had they waited too long? Had she?

Realizing that tears had sprung to her eyes, she grabbed a tissue. If she was being totally honest with herself, it hurt. It hurt to think of him with someone else, to think that she’d misread where she’d been convinced they were headed, that she had in fact waited too long to pursue something with him. Of course he would move on eventually. Rationally, she knew that. And yet, it still stung.

Resigning herself to the fact that this train of thought was leading nowhere right now, she dabbed her eyes once more and tossed the tissue in the trash. Grabbing her coat, she was in the midst of putting it on when a soft knock came at the doorway to the lab, and she looked up to see the object of her thoughts standing there.

“Charlie?” she said, surprised. “Hey. Did you need something?”

“Have dinner with me,” he replied, eyes searching her face. She hoped he couldn’t see that she had been crying.

“Oh, sure,” she replied, trying to sound casual. Their team often hung out on Friday nights. “Pizza night? I can give Jesse the heads up.”

“No, I um…” Charlie drew in a breath. “Have dinner with me. You and me.”

Rex made a noise from the hallway.

“Okay, him too. Just...Come over tonight.” 

He fixed her with an intense gaze that she was sure she’d never seen from him before. Except, if she thought about it, it was the same look she’d seen at his house when he’d watched her with Rex. It was the same look he’d had at the crime scene as he’d talked about the perfect woman walking into his apartment and instantly connecting with the dog.

“Have dinner with me,” he repeated, sounding more sure of himself this time.

She blinked back the fresh tears that sprang to her eyes, a smile forming on her face as she realized what he was really asking.

“Okay.” She needed to be sure, though. “Charlie?”

“Yeah?”

“Is this a date?”

“Yes.” He was grinning from ear to ear.

“Okay.” She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, meeting his eyes again.

“Hey, um…” Charlie started. “Can I...can we walk you out?”

“Yeah...yeah, sure,” she replied, a little nervously.

She walked with him and Rex to the elevator, brushing her hand along the dog’s fur on the way. The doors opened and they entered, moving to lean against the wall, perhaps a little closer to each other than they’d intended. 

Sarah was keenly aware of Charlie’s proximity as the doors closed and they began the ride to the parking garage. Suddenly she felt the slight brush of his pinky finger against her own, tentative, then more firmly seeking out her hand. She didn’t look at him but clasped his hand lightly in her own, smiling to herself.

As they reached the parking garage, he walked her to her car.

“So, um,” she began, still a bit shakily. “What time should I…”

“Come by about 7?” replied Charlie.

“Okay. I’ll see you later.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I will finish my super-soft Valentine's fic, but it's temporarily on hold while I sort out this mess. 
> 
> Next chapter is probably still a bit fluffy, but then it's going to get a little bumpy down the road.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This pained me to write. Internal monologues are not my forte.

Sarah was freaking out. 

She held up a black dress in front of her as she looked in the mirror, then sighed as she tossed it onto the growing pile of clothing on her bed. 

Why was she making such a big deal about this? This was _Charlie._ They had dinner together all the time, hell, she was constantly at his place to go for a run, to unwind after a case. This wasn’t any different from any of those other times they’d casually hung out.

_But it is different_ , she thought.

Was it, though? They’d confirmed that it was indeed a date...but what did that mean for them at this point? There was still so much left unsaid between them. Were they ready to take this step, to finally acknowledge how they felt about each other?

Was this even the right time to try to pursue something with him? He’d been on a date with another woman less than a week prior. Even though she knew it hadn’t worked out, she couldn’t shake the feeling of doubt that this had sparked in her. If he was putting himself out there, if he was seeing other women, would she be just another addition to that list? Would this be just a one-time thing?

_You know it’s more than that_.

And that was what really scared her. The knowledge that, for her at least, (and she suspected also for him,) this was _more._ It seemed like they’d reached a turning point where they would finally need to talk about the things they’d avoided talking about for so long. To finally figure out where they stood. Hence the butterflies that seemed to have taken up residence in her stomach. 

Taking this next step came with so many potential risks. Their friendship was so important to her. Their professional relationship...this could complicate that. What if they tried this, and it didn’t work out? How would that affect their ability to work together, to see each other every day? He was her best friend, her confidante, her constant. She couldn’t face the possibility of losing that.

Trying to distract herself from the stream of ‘what-ifs’ running through her head, she went to her closet once more. Finding a low-cut purple blouse and a simple black skirt, she grabbed some jewelry from the tray on her dresser and went to the bathroom to do her hair.

Deep breaths. She could do this.

******

Across town, Charlie wasn’t faring much better.

“What do you think of this one?” he asked Rex, showing him a familiar purple shirt.

Rex barked his disapproval.

Charlie looked at the shirt he held again. Right. This was the shirt he’d worn the night he’d invited Michelle over. Okay, that was a terrible idea. 

He was thinking too much about this. Did he need to dress up? They hadn’t really talked about how casual this would be...they hadn’t really talked, period, other than to confirm that yes, this was a date. But he’d been on dates before. Recently. So why did he feel like a lovesick teenager getting ready for the prom?

_Because it’s her._

As much as it had pained him not to be able to play an active role in this case, it had given him a lot of time to think, and his thoughts had been of Sarah. What was actually going on with them? He’d thought, no, he _knew_ that they’d been on the verge of acknowledging that there was something more between them for a while, but they never managed to actually talk about it.

So he’d made the decision to try dating again. It seemed like maybe the easy way out, even if nothing about it was easy. He’d had a good time with Michelle. There had been a bit of a spark there, and they’d gone on a handful of dates before he’d decided that maybe it was time to invite her over, to introduce her to Rex. That had obviously been a mistake. But more than that, something had been...missing.

_She wasn’t Sarah,_ he thought. Which was, of course, a completely unfair comparison. No one could ever compare to what Sarah meant to him. She was his best friend, but more than that, she was the one person he trusted more than anyone else, and trust was not something that came easily to him.

He was almost certain she felt the same way he did, but they never talked about it. Why were they so afraid to acknowledge it? He’d considered the possibilities, the risks involved with taking this step into something _more_. He’d also considered that he knew she was it for him. She’d had his heart for longer than he’d realized. And that, that was the thought that terrified him. Because he’d felt that way once before, and it had broken him when it fell apart.

_Stop,_ he thought. Sarah wasn’t Julia. Their names didn’t even belong in the same sentence.

Had she been crying earlier, when he’d gone to see her in the lab? Her eyes were often shiny, full of emotion, but she’d looked maybe a little watery. He’d been afraid to ask her about it, afraid that he’d somehow been the cause of her tears. 

Sighing, he settled on a navy blue sweater, closing his closet door. Standing here lost in thought wasn’t going to get him anywhere. They needed to have an actual conversation. Maybe this would finally be the right time.

Heading to the kitchen, he stirred the sauce that simmered on the stove. 

He didn’t notice the unopened bottle of wine still sitting by his fireplace from the weekend before, or its accompanying card.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so...there wasn't actually a card with the bottle of wine in the show (I did go back and confirm this by rewatching *that* scene, and cringing the whole time, ew), but I'm taking the creative license to add it in because I needed something to throw a wrench in things. This isn't going to be our usual idealized Charah first date. Apologies in advance.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry. Writing this chapter broke my heart more than a little.

Charlie’s doorbell rang. Giving the pasta one more stir, he went to the door and opened it.

Sarah stood there holding a bottle of wine, a nervous smile on her face.

Charlie smiled at her. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she replied softly. She put the wine and her purse on the table by the door, and was surprised as Charlie moved to help her off with her coat.

“Dinner’s almost ready. Make yourself at home.” He paused, looking at her for a moment. “You look, um...you look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she said, blushing. “You uh, you clean up pretty nice yourself.” She smiled at him as she went into the living room to greet Rex, who happily wagged his tail as she ruffled his fur.

Charlie took the wine to the kitchen. He continued to tend to dinner, throwing together a salad as the pasta and sauce simmered on the stove..

Sarah stood in the living room for a moment, taking in the spectacular view of the harbour from the large window. Why did she feel so nervous being here tonight? She decided not to overthink it, and was about to join Charlie in the kitchen when she noticed the bottle of wine that sat on the fireplace mantel.

“Oh, I didn’t think to ask if you already had wine, sorry. I guess now we have extra.”

Charlie was momentarily confused. What was she talking about? Unless...oh no. He suddenly remembered that Michelle had brought over a bottle of wine, which she must have left by the fireplace before she had gone home. Maybe he could just play it off as having been well-prepared?

Sarah picked up the bottle, noticing the small card that had been left open next to it.

_Charlie,_

_To the start of something special._

_XOXO_

_Michelle_

She put the bottle back down, a little shaky. So it hadn’t been just a one-time thing...it had definitely been more than one date if she’d been to his house. This had been a huge mistake.

Grabbing her coat and purse, she walked out the front door. 

From the kitchen, Charlie heard the door close and his heart dropped. Walking into the living room, he saw the wine bottle and the discarded card. He read it. Oh no. Oh no...Sarah would have seen it and assumed…

Flying out the door, he saw her standing at her car, tears falling down her face as she fumbled with her keys.

“Sarah, wait,” he called after her.

“No. No, Charlie, I’ve waited long enough.” She whirled to face him. “I’m not waiting any longer for you to wake up and see that I’m right here! I’ve been right here!” She sighed heavily. “Maybe this just isn’t where we were meant to be. Maybe we did wait too long.”

“Sarah, I...I’ve been an idiot about things between us for far too long. I’m so sorry.”

“Charlie, save it. I don’t want your apology right now. Look, maybe I should have said something sooner, but Charlie, you could have done the same thing. Instead, you’ve been seeing someone and obviously it was starting to get serious—”

“It wasn’t—”

“Well she seems to have thought otherwise. Look, I’m not...I can’t keep waiting for you to figure out what you want. I thought this was...Forget it. This was a mistake.” She finally got the key in the lock.

“Sarah, please. Can you just come back inside? We can talk about this.”

“I don’t think you’re ready to have this conversation. And I’m not having it tonight. I just...I can’t do this. I can’t keep holding onto this possibility because I don’t know what this is...I don’t know, maybe I was too scared of what it meant, but—”

“You think I’m not scared? I’m terrified! I’m so afraid that if I make that first move, it’s just inevitable that I’ll screw it up, and I don’t want...I couldn’t handle losing you.” He sighed. “Maybe you’re right, maybe we did wait too long. But I still...” He trailed off, panicked, not sure what else to say.

“I can’t do this right now. I’m sorry.” She gave him a sad look as she opened the car door.

“Can you please just let me know you get in okay?” he asked, sounding defeated.

“I will,” she replied, voice shaky as she got into her car and closed the door.

Sitting in her car, Sarah leaned on the steering wheel, burying her face in her hands as the tears kept coming. _Get it together,_ she thought. Wiping at her face, she pulled the car out and drove home.

Inside the house, Charlie sat on the couch, head in his hands. Rex quietly came over and lay his head on his lap. He felt so lost. He had royally screwed this up. He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there when he was startled by the sound of his phone alerting him to a new message. It was from Sarah.

_I’m home._

He typed out his response. 

_Thank you. I’m really sorry. See you Monday._

No further response came. Sighing, no longer very hungry, he went to clean up dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise it's still a fix-it, you're just going to have to ride out the feels for a few more chapters first.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I have a need to get all the hard stuff out as quickly as possible, so you get another chapter tonight.

The atmosphere in the Major Crimes Unit had turned frosty, and it had nothing to do with the winter weather setting in.

Weeks passed by, then a month. Sarah spent more and more time in the Forensics lab, often sending her assistant Kelly to assist at crime scenes.

The rare times that Charlie stopped by the lab, their exchanges were brief, all business. Rex sat in the hallway looking forlorn as Sarah tried her best not to show how much she missed spending time with the dog. She valued the moments in the bullpen when he would trot over to her and place a paw on her lap.

They had stopped running together in the mornings. Sarah still went out on her own, occasionally seeing Charlie and Rex from a distance on one of their familiar trails.

Charlie heard via Jesse that Sarah had been on a few dates with a local paramedic, though it seemed not to have worked out. He hadn’t made any further efforts on the dating front.

Jesse also expressed how awkward he felt with “mom and dad fighting,” earning him a stony glare from Charlie. He didn’t bring it up again.

Then a lead came in on a cold case. It was a missing persons case that had been initially investigated by SJPD but had turned up no suspects and no sign of the victim.

Joe called Charlie into his office, where Sarah was already waiting.

“Is there something going on with you two that I should know about?” he asked, eyeing their posture as they stood as far apart as possible. Of course he had put two and two together from the snippets of office gossip he overheard, but as long as their work didn’t suffer, he wasn’t going to say anything about it. Yet.

“No, sir,” they replied, accidentally in unison. Charlie gave Sarah a sideways glance.

“Good, because I need you to head up to Gander. The local detachment found an abandoned car that it seems may have some link to the McCaffrey case. I told them I’d send them our best people.”

“Joe, I have Rex in training with the drug enforcement unit tomorrow,” Charlie protested.

“I have such a backlog right now, Joe, I can’t just drop it all,” said Sarah, looking suddenly very uncomfortable.

“Charlie, you can be there and back while Rex is in training, and Sarah, you have an assistant who has proven more than capable of handling things in your absence.” He eyed them both, knowing exactly what their hesitations were. “Unless there’s some other reason you’re not telling me…”

Charlie let out a sigh. Were they that transparent? “No, sir,” he said.

“Great. Hey, keep an eye on the weather, though. The forecast isn’t calling for snow until the end of the week, but you know how quickly that can change. In fact, you might consider calling ahead just in case you have to book into a hotel for the night. Better to be safe than sorry. And of course, the department will cover the cost of your rooms.”

_Not a chance in hell,_ thought Sarah, though she gave the Superintendent a weak smile as she responded. “Sounds good, boss.”

Charlie held the door as he followed Sarah out of Joe’s office. He cleared his throat.

“You want me to drive?” he asked tentatively.

“Sure, fine,” she replied, a little clipped, not meeting his eyes.

“Okay. I’ll pick you up in the morning? If we get on the road by 6 or so we should be back by the time Rex finishes up with training.”

“Okay,” replied Sarah, turning on her heel and walking quickly out of the bullpen.

  
_Yeah, this was going to go well,_ thought Charlie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unpredictable Newfoundland weather, you say? What's this about a hotel? I wonder how many rooms they might have left...and how many beds?
> 
> (See, I told you better things would be coming.)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a longer one. We're nearly through the rough patch.

Sarah finished doing a quick inventory of her forensic equipment before closing the bag and taking it to the door, setting it next to the overnight bag that she had grudgingly packed just in case.

This was going to be a nightmare. She and Charlie barely said a handful of words to each other these days beyond their curt professional exchanges while working cases together. She was not looking forward to spending a good seven hours or more in a car with him.

The hurt she carried from the night she had walked away from him was nothing compared to the pain of missing him now. She missed the time they normally spent together, whether it was him coming down to the lab to run a theory by her, or her leaning on his desk, chatting amicably as Jesse showed them something on his digital board. She missed their time outside of work even more, jogging together, laughing as they watched a movie, somehow always ending up far closer together than physically necessary given the size of his new couch, but never questioning it as they leaned against each other, a blanket thrown over their laps, Rex snuggled into one of their sides.

She missed the dog almost more than the man himself. They were unfortunately a package deal, so the distance between her and Charlie had meant far less contact with Rex. She was actually a little sad that he wouldn’t be joining them on this trip, he would have made it so much more bearable.

She’d tried briefly taking a page from Charlie’s book and putting herself back out there. A paramedic named Jeremy that she’d met a few times during past cases had asked her out, and she’d accepted. It had lasted exactly three coffee dates and one incredibly awkward evening at her place that had ended abruptly with her accidentally saying another man’s name at a very...unfortunate time.

Her doorbell rang, and she opened the door to see the object of her thoughts standing there, not quite making eye contact with her.

“Hey,” he said. “You ready to go?”

“Yup,” she replied, grabbing her bags. He opened the trunk and she fit them easily in next to his own.

She took her seat as Charlie walked back around to the driver’s side and got in.

“Hey, um,” he started. “I wasn’t sure if you’d had coffee or anything, so I got you…” he trailed off, indicating the to-go cups in the cupholders between them. “That one’s yours.”

She managed a weak smile. “Thank you.” 

“Always,” he replied, starting the car.

Sarah took a sip. Mocha. Damn him, he knew her too well.

They headed out, and tried in vain to make small talk. She asked him about the training Rex was doing. He complimented Kelly’s work in the field. Eventually they lapsed into silence.

Digging out her earbuds, Sarah put on a podcast she had downloaded, and leaned against the window. Eventually, her eyes closed of their own accord.

*****

“Hey.”

Sarah woke with a start, Charlie’s hand on her arm.

“Hey, sorry.” He quickly withdrew his hand, leaving her missing the familiar warmth. “We’re here.”

She blinked a few times, a little embarrassed at having fallen asleep. And looked outside to a world of white.

“Oh no, when did that happen?” she asked, more to herself than to him.

“Just in the last 60 kilometers or so. It was just windy for most of the drive and then it started to pick up.”

She nodded, stepping out of the car, pulling her coat tightly around her as she followed him into the building.

*****

Having spent a good part of the early afternoon looking at the evidence that the local detachment had gathered from the abandoned car, while Charlie went to interview the witnesses who had found it, Sarah was more than ready to get back on the road.

Finally having all they needed, they stepped outside together and stopped dead in their tracks. Snow whirled around them, blanketing the streets.

They looked at each other.

“I’m guessing you didn’t call any hotels either,” said Sarah, mentally kicking herself for not planning ahead.

“Nope. Figured we’d be here and back again.”

“Yeah, me too. Um, we could try calling around now? Or we could see what the roads are looking like?”

“Sure,” replied Charlie, looking at his phone. “Oh no.”

“What is it?” Sarah asked, pulling out her own phone and seeing what had him concerned. Her weather app was displaying an alert. She opened it and read the warning of whiteout conditions and multiple road closures due to high winds and blowing snow. “Dammit. Okay, so...we’re definitely going to need a place to stay.” 

“There was a motel back up the road a few kilometers,” said Charlie. “Why don’t we head over and see what they have?”

“Sure,” replied Sarah. Resigning herself to the knowledge that they were stuck, at least for a while, she got back in the car and they slowly drove off.

The motel was thankfully close. Charlie got out, Sarah waiting in the car. After a few moments he came back, a pained look in his eyes.

“No vacancy?”

“No, uh, they do, it’s just that..I guess with the storm, all flights have been cancelled and the local hotels are full.”

Sarah dreaded what she somehow knew he was about to say.

“So anyway, this place has one room left…” he trailed off.

She sighed. Of course. 

“Well, I don’t think we have much choice, we might as well take it.”

“Yeah,” said Charlie. “Okay. I’ll go grab the keys.”

Sarah leaned back in her seat and squeezed her eyes shut. Yup, this was definitely a nightmare.

*****

“You have got to be kidding me,” said Charlie as they entered the room.

The room that was nicely furnished with a small table with two armchairs, a TV, dresser, and the object of their current frustration: the single queen bed in the middle of it.

Sarah just groaned. This couldn’t possibly get worse. “They, uh, they didn’t mention that at the front desk?”

“No, honestly, she probably did, I was just focused on getting us a place to sleep so I didn't hear it.” Charlie sighed. “I’ll give them a call, maybe they have one of those cot things.”

“I’ll call,” said Sarah reassuringly. “You should probably give Joe a call and see about arrangements for Rex.”

“Right. Dammit. Thanks.” Charlie dialed his phone, as did Sarah.

A few moments later, Sarah hung up the phone with a sigh. “No such luck. They’ve already got overflow from all the international flights that were cancelled. If they find something, they’ll let us know.”

“Okay, well. I can just as easily sleep on the—”

“No.” She looked at him, expression unreadable. “It’s fine, Charlie. Hey, what about Rex?”

“Jesse’s gonna take him. He’s excited for a guys’ night.”

“That’s good. Hey um, I noticed there’s a restaurant next door, you want me to head over and grab us some takeout? I could use the walk.”

“Thanks,” Charlie replied, sensing that she wanted the time alone. “I’ll grab our bags from the car.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TROPE ALERT.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's kind of short, but it's going to segue into The Talk. I wanted to put it all in one chapter, but it's currently at 6 pages before editing so I'm going to hold off and hopefully have the rest posted later tonight or tomorrow.

Charlie had his laptop set up on the table and was working through witness statements when Sarah returned with their food. He looked up at her, taking in her snow-covered form with a smile. “Still coming down?”

She returned his smile. “Yeah. It was a good walk though.” Despite the snow, the walk had helped her to clear her head a little bit. It was funny, somehow being stuck here with Charlie, having to problem-solve together, seemed to be easing the tension between them slightly. When was the last time they’d genuinely smiled at each other?

“I’m glad. Um, here.” He moved his laptop to clear the small table so they could eat.

They still ate in silence, but the air no longer seemed quite so heavy between them. Cleaning up, Sarah brought out her laptop and took a seat on the bed, starting to input her preliminary findings on the evidence from the abandoned car.

Looking over, Charlie noticed that her posture was still somewhat tense. But had her facial expression perhaps softened? He hoped that was in fact what he was seeing. It was easy to see that this rift between them was affecting her as much as it was him. They’d spoken to each other more through the course of the day than they had in weeks.

They continued to work late into the evening, finally shutting down their computers to call it a day.

“Mind if I turn on the news?” asked Charlie. “I’d like to see how long this is supposed to last."

“Sure,” replied Sarah from where she still sat on the bed. 

Charlie stayed on the armchair, still keeping a respectful distance as they took in the weather forecast. The snow was projected to last through the next morning, but it looked like crews were working to clear the highway and that things might open up by early afternoon. Well that was good news.

Stifling a yawn, realizing how exhausted she was, Sarah grabbed her pajamas from her bag and headed to the bathroom. Returning to the bed, she laid down, pulling the blankets over herself.

Charlie took his turn in the bathroom before coming back and taking his side of the bed.

“Hey,” he said. “I’m really sorry about this.”

She looked at him, surprised. “You’re apologizing for the weather?”

“No, I just...Maybe if I’d planned ahead a little better, we wouldn’t be stuck here right now.” 

“Charlie I could just as easily have done the same. Seriously, don’t worry about it.”

Shutting off the bedside lamp, Sarah lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. Charlie mirrored her actions on the other side of the bed. They lay in the darkness as the heavy silence that had hung between them earlier seemed to set back in. And then...

“I miss you.”

Charlie’s voice sounded so quiet in the dark that Sarah had to blink a few times to make sure that she was awake, and that he had actually said it. No, he definitely had.

“I miss you, too.” She rolled to her side, searching for his face in the darkness, still keeping the space between them. He did the same.

“Can we talk?”

“Are you sure you’re ready to have this conversation?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I think...I think we both need to.” 

“Okay,” came her soft reply.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FEELINGS AND FLUFF

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me at least three drafts to get this from over 6 pages to a manageable 4-ish. These dorks have so much they need to say to each other (hello, show writers, you wanna get on that?) Anyway, please enjoy the happy.

The light on Charlie’s side of the bed turned back on. He sat up slightly, resting his back against the pillows. Sarah did the same, not daring to look at him yet.

“Can you...will you hear me out? There’s a lot I need to say to you, but also I need you to know that I am really, really bad at this. It might take a while.”

“I’m listening,” she replied, turning on the light beside her too.

“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “I guess...I don’t even know where to begin. So, you know there was someone I was seeing, for a short time. We had a few dates, and you know I invited her over, once. I told you it didn’t work out because of Rex, and while that was a large part of it, there was a bigger reason. And I’ll get to that.”

He squeezed his eyes shut briefly before continuing. “You know, um...that I haven’t dated since my divorce. I know we’ve never talked about it much but...Julia really did a number on me. I was a wreck for a long time. So deciding to try putting myself out there again...I needed to know if I was even capable of opening myself up again, because if I wasn’t, if I tried to pursue something more serious, I...I knew I’d mess it up.”

Sarah glanced over at him, a little tight-lipped, but listened as he continued.

“You said I don’t see you. You’re wrong about that. I’ve always seen you. But when you came over during that case, and the way you greeted Rex...It’s not that I didn’t already know what I saw in you, but it was like a switch flipped and I felt like it was finally time to do something about it. And at the time, it felt like the right thing to do, but looking back...I rushed things. I assumed, maybe, that because you and I are, or I guess were, already so close that it would just be a natural shift into...more than that. But it was too fast, and I...I’m so sorry. I understand why you walked away. I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

Sarah kept her eyes focused straight in front of her, afraid her face would betray the emotion his words were bringing up in her.

“And now I feel like I’ve lost my best friend. Because that’s what you are to me first and foremost. You’re my best friend, Sarah. And I don’t know if I can…” His voice was choked with emotion. “My biggest fear was trying to pursue this with you, and having it go wrong, and losing your friendship over it. And it felt like that was exactly what happened, and I had no idea how to deal with it. I didn’t know how to bring it up again...and I just shut back down. And I’m so sorry for that.”

She finally dared a look in his direction. Were those...was he tearing up?

“You want me to take over for a bit?” she asked.

He nodded, unable to find the words.

“Charlie, you’re right, I was hurt. But it wasn’t...it wasn’t just because of the timing. I had doubts before I even went to your place that night. Because whatever the buildup, it did somehow seem like it was happening too fast. Finding out that you’d been dating again, that threw me off, and I was already trying to wrap my head around what that would potentially mean for our friendship. And you and I…” She trailed off. 

“Look, we’ve had all these moments when it seemed like we were maybe ready to address the possibility of something more between us.” She glanced over at him, seeing his almost imperceptible nod. “And then we never talk about it again. And we should talk about those moments, because they do mean something. Anyway, when I realized...I knew that you’d been seeing someone, recently, but when I saw that card...it was like all those doubts I had were suddenly real. And I thought that maybe I was about to be just the next in a line of women you were pursuing, and that was what really stung. Because you mean so much more than that to me.” 

She sniffed, not realizing that she was crying already. “Charlie, you’re my best friend too. And I value that so much. I guess...you know there hasn’t really been anyone since I broke up with Thomas. Though, I should tell you...I was briefly seeing someone, just recently, while you and I haven’t been...anyway it didn’t work out.”

“Jesse might have mentioned something.”

Sarah let out an embarrassed sigh, rolling her eyes. “Of course he did. But that was about me trying to see if I could...I was wondering the same things I guess that you were, whether I could actually open myself up to someone like that again. Look, when I broke up with Thomas, it hurt a lot. And don’t get me wrong, it was the right decision, but at the same time, it was sort of letting go of that last connection to my old life. And I’m really happy with my life here now. Meeting you, and Rex...you’ve become this big part of my life, and we’ve become so close. I never want to lose that. So when things fell apart with us that night, it was like my biggest fear, that fear of losing your friendship if we pushed for something more, was suddenly coming true.”

Charlie noticed her tears, and tentatively shifted slightly closer to her, still leaving the gap between them, but reaching out to take her hand in his own.

“Sarah, your friendship is everything to me. But I think...like you said, we have all these moments when it feels like there could be more between us. And it’s felt like that for a while. And I do want more, that hasn’t changed. But taking that leap, that’s what terrifies me. Not because it’s not what I want, but...look what happened when we tried. I never wanted to lose you. And feeling like I have...it’s been devastating.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “We can’t keep going like this. It’s not healthy. We need to be able to communicate with each other.” She drew in a breath. “But maybe...don’t we owe it to ourselves to explore this thing between us...to see if we could be that _more_ that we both seem to want? But if we decide to...We need to have one ground rule. We need to maintain that we’re friends first, always. That’s more important than anything else.”

“Agreed.” He thought for a moment. “If we...if this happens...I think we need to take it really slowly.” He laughed. “That seems almost backwards with how well we know each other. But I...this might be a lot for you to hear, but I need to tell you.” He fixed her with an intense gaze, eyes shining. “I think you may be it for me. I’m sorry if that scares you, but I need you to know.”

Tears streamed down Sarah’s face at the raw honesty of his words. “Charlie. Thank you. Thank you for saying that. I just...I need a minute, okay?”

“Take all the time you need.” He rubbed his thumb softly over her hand, reassuring.

A few moments passed before she spoke again. “It’s funny, you know. In any other relationship, it would take so much time to get to this point, but I think we’ve already laid it all out. I think we’ve established that we have pretty strong feelings for each other.”

Charlie nodded his agreement.

“So in a way, we’ve already taken that leap over those initial steps.” She laughed softly. “We might be going about this backwards. But to be serious...your friendship means more to me than the potential of anything else. I’m ready to take this step if you are, but that will always be where we fall back to if it doesn’t work.”

“Definitely. So um...are you saying…”

“That you’re it for me too? Yes, Charlie. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

He looked at her, a mixture of shock and happiness on his face. 

“Wow...I don’t even know what to do now,” he laughed. “Come here.”

Sarah moved over, closing the remaining distance as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her against him. Her head came to rest against his shoulder, and she breathed him in. She knew tears were still rolling down her face.

“I never want to be the reason for your tears,” he murmured against her hair, as he reached up to brush them away.

“I promise these are happy tears,” she replied with a sniffle, lifting her head to smile at him. She shifted so that she could put both her arms around him, head buried into his chest as she savoured the feeling of just holding each other. 

Charlie rubbed slow circles on her back, grateful to have her in his arms again. “Hey, um. I know that we’re both exhausted, probably even more now. You want to get some sleep?”

She nodded against him, not quite ready to let go yet.

“Hey, Sarah?”

She pulled back slightly so that she could meet his eyes, which also brimmed with tears.

“Can I just...can I do something quickly before we call it a night?”

Smiling, she nodded, knowing exactly what he wanted as his head dipped towards hers. She tilted her face up to meet him halfway as their lips met for the first time in a soft kiss. Lips parting slightly, they kissed tenderly for several moments before they gently broke apart, foreheads resting together, hands coming up to brush the last of the tears from each other’s cheeks.

“That okay?” Charlie asked.

“More than okay,” Sarah replied.

“So...time to get some sleep?”

She nodded, and he reached over to turn out the light on his side as she did the same. Pulling the covers around them, Charlie reached for her and she happily curled into his embrace.

“Oh, one more thing,” he whispered. “You know...you know I love you, right?”

She smiled in the dark. "I love you too, Charlie.” She met his lips once more before snuggling further into him. 

They drifted off to sleep together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue still to come.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything's better the second time around?

Charlie turned on his fireplace, casting a warm glow over the table set for two. Soft music played on the stereo.

Looking at Rex, he spun around. “What do you think?”

Rex barked his approval of Charlie’s outfit. 

The doorbell rang. 

Opening the door, Charlie smiled as Sarah walked in, leaning towards her to give her a peck on the cheek. “Hi. You look beautiful. Here, I’ll take your coat.”

She blushed slightly, putting down the bottle of wine she held as he helped her off with her coat. “Thank you.”

Rex bounded over, raising a paw in greeting.

“Hey, handsome,” she said, crouching down to take his paw before putting her arms around him. “Oh, I love you so much. You’re the best.”

Standing back up, she laughed at the look of mock-jealousy on Charlie’s face.

“How come he always gets the better greeting?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you want me to shake your paw?” Sarah asked, with a flirty smile as she took his hand.

Charlie pulled her towards him, laughing as he caught her around the waist, her hands coming up to rest on his shoulders. Tilting her face upwards, Sarah met his lips with her own.

“Hey, handsome,” she whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading. This was the most difficult fic to write. As you know, angst is not usually my thing, so your comments have been so appreciated!


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